Six Degrees of Separation – Adoption Edition

We mentioned in our “Dear Family & Friends” post that many adoptions occur through acquaintances. We don’t have an official statistic, but the general consensus of the adoption social workers we have spoken with say that it is happening more and more. They suggested that the couples who are more open about their desire to adopt are more likely to be matched.

You may have heard of the six degrees of separation theory. If not, it’s simply a theory that suggests that everyone on Earth is no more than six links away from everyone else in the world. We want to see how well we can match that theory with our adoption experience. If this theory was true, we might only be 6 acquaintances (or less) away from finding a potential birth family.

We’re hoping to reach as many people as possible with our story. For instance, take Facebook. If every one of our Facebook friends shares our story with 5 people, we’ll have reached over 1,500 people. If people continue to share, our possibilities are endless. It’s truly amazing to think about it, but we aren’t naïve. Finding someone considering an adoption plan who likes us for us may not be the easiest thing. One thing is for sure. If we don’t share our story, we definitely won’t.

Now, we’ll have a little more fun. Jessica first heard about Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon several years ago. This theory was based on the six degrees of separation theory and a remark made by Bacon suggesting he had worked with everyone in Hollywood. Being a Kevin Bacon fanatic (not to mention a bacon fanatic), she investigated and decided she had to figure out how many links she was away from the actor. She remembered her grandparents mentioning they went to school and were acquaintances with Shirley Jones, best known for her role as Shirley Partridge on The Partridge Family. Jessica figured this might be the best way to find a link and sure enough it was! Shirley Jones has a Bacon number (yes, they really call it that) of 2, which means she met someone who has met Kevin Bacon. So, there’s only 4 degrees of separation from us and the one and only Kevin Bacon. Jessica might be the only one excited here, but if you’re intrigued, you can see how many links most actors are away from Kevin Bacon at The Oracle of Bacon. You can’t make this stuff up. What’s your Bacon number?

We hope you’ll share our story on social media, with your friends and family, and at the coffee shop, if you are so inclined. If nothing else, we hope you’ll remember us, if someone you know considers an adoption plan for their child. Will you be our link?

Chris & Jessica

Chris and Jessica are a sweet-tea-sipping, laughing-addicted, animal-obsessed couple who reside in the countryside of Virginia. They're pursuing domestic infant adoption and can’t wait to become a family of 3 or 4. Will you be part of their journey?